ostry

Ostry is a Polish adjective meaning sharp, pointed, acute, or severe. It is used for physical sharpness as well as for sensory experiences such as taste and smell, and it can describe metaphorical sharpness or severity, for example a sharp blade, a sharp taste, a pungent odor, or a sharp comment.

In Polish, ostry is the masculine singular form; feminine is ostra and neuter is ostre. The adjective agrees with noun gender and number, and its comparative form is ostrzejszy, with the superlative najostrzejszy. Common phrases include ostry nóż (sharp knife), ostry smak (sharp/pungent taste), and ostry komentarz (sharp/biting comment).

Etymology traces ostry to the Proto-Slavic root ostro- meaning sharp. It has cognates in several Slavic languages, such as Czech ostrý, Russian ostryj, Ukrainian ostryy, and Serbo-Croatian oštar, reflecting a shared lineage of the concept across the family.

Ostry also appears in idiomatic usage to convey intensity or urgency, such as in discussions of danger or immediacy. The related noun ostrość denotes sharpness or acuity, while the adverb ostro describes doing something in a sharp or severe manner.

See also: ostrość, ostry kielisz, related Slavic cognates.